Drying apparatus and method



June I24, 1930. KL. .BucK 1,766,595

HDBXENG APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed April 25, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 1jrazgerzkr ym M m! afllzyasa June 24, 1930. 1 BUCK 1,766,595

DRYING APPARATUS AND METHOD June 24, 1930. BUCK 1,766,595

DRYING APPARATUS AND" METHOD Filed April 25, 1929 4 Sheets-Shea; s

zzzis (5507 76619 June 24, 1936} BUCK 1,766,595

mmne APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed April 25, 1929 4 Sheets-Shet 260672707Lucie/71. BM 3 W Mwy y 72x76 Cfi0 6- ti... /IN.|| wmmmoeolbmmomboPatented June 24, 1930 STATES PATENT OFFICE- JLUCIEN BUCK, OF NORTHADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES HUNTER MACHINECOMPANY, OF NORTH ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTSDRYING APPARATUS AND METHOD Application filed April 25,

This invention relates to an improved process of and apparatus fordrying elongate strips of fabric which have been moist ened, as forexample by passing them through a sizing or other bath, the improvedprocess and apparatus being more particularly applicable to thetreatment of carpeting which is usually steamed or sized with acomparatively heavy, viscous fluid, and which is provided with a closelywoven body portion, having, in many varieties of carpet, a heavy pile onits upper surface. This application is a continuation in part of myc'opending application, Serial No. 209,719 filed August 1, 1927.

Heretofore material of this character has ordinarily beendried bydrawing the same over an elongate group of steam coils or the like,intimate contact with the hot steam pipes having been deemed essentialto the proper drying of the fabric within a reasonable length oftime,.although movement of the fabric in direct contact with .the pipeshas an objectionable effect upon the carpeting, for example causing thesurface of the fabric to .be coated with a glazed or scalelike facing.The present invention discloses an improved process and apparatuspermitting the introduction of the fabric into a heating chamber whereit may pass along a path in closely spaced relation to a series ofheating coils. The carpet then enters a drying chamber where it passesthrough a series of zones containing heating factors and air nozzle(outlets. The fabric may be supported upon rolls which hold it in spacedrelation to the air outlets and to the heatin factors so that frictionalcontact with these elements is avoided.

In order to permit the effective and rapid drying of material such ascarpeting having a comparatively long-and heavy nap or pile, such forexample as Hilton and Axminster velvet which absorbs a great deal ofmoisture, additional -drying jets are preferably provided to insure arapidly flowing air current which passes transversely over the fabricand which may be heated in any desired manner. Preferably such an airdraft is directed from the same source of-drying air 1929. Serial No.357,932.

supply as that which provides the main air Figs that are disposedbeneath the moving a IlC.

Drying apparatus of this character may be provided with draft inducingand controlling means whereby the fiow of the drying air may becontrolled, a portion of the warm moisture-laden air being vented to theatmosphere and a portion thereof being returned to the drying air heaterand again being circulated about the moist fabric. Means may be providedcontrollably to vary the proportions of the air thus vented to theatmosphere and returned to the drying air heater.

A further aspect of the invention relates to improved structuralfeatures of the dryer which permit itsready assembly in standardizedunits or sections so that dryers of maximum efliciency and of variouslengths and capacities may readily be made to suit individualinstallations or characters of fabric to be treated.

. Inthe accompanying drawings in which certain preferred embodiments ofmy invent1on are illustrated, I

Fig. 1 is a broken plan view of one form of lmproved drying apparatus,parts of the same being broken away and parts being dlag rammaticallyindicated;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the drying apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a broken diagrammatic view taken in side elevation;

Fig tis a side elevational view of the portion of the drier adjoiningthe point of fabg ric exit, the outer wall of the drier being of thedrying means shown in Fig 8; and we Fig. 10 is a side elevational viewof the same.

The type of drier illustrated in the accompanying drawings, as forexample in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4:, is adapted to receive fabric that haspassed through a sizing bath or which has been steamed, apparatus forthe former purpose being diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 3 by thenumeral 1. In this apparatus fabric passes under the outer rolls 2 andover the intermediate roll 3, the latter having its lower portionimmersed in the sizing solution 4 which is contained in vat 5.

The carpet or similar fabric 6 then passes into the elongate dryingchamber 7 which may conveniently be supported or suspended adjoining theceiling of the room, as by hangers 8 (Fig. 2). The carpet or otherfabric passes to a roll 9 fairly near the top of the drying chamber, itbeing understood that a plurality of parallel strips of the fabric maymove through the drying chamber at the same time, the present disclosurefor example showing four parallel strips of carpet 6 moving in thedirection of the arrows of Fig. 1.

The carpeting as it passes along its horizontal path is first introducedto the preheating zone 10 where it passes a pluralit of steam coils 11which ma be located bot above and below the fa ric, if desired.

Thus the temperature of the moist fabric is raised, and it is preparedfor treatment in the subsequent drying zones are designated in generalby the numeral 12, Fig. 3, certain zones having air outlets 13 and otherzones, having steam coils 14, being interspersed therebetween.Preferably one of the air outlets is located at the entrance of thedrying section; ad-

- joining this outlet is a set of steam coils 14; succeeded by one ormore air outlets 13; then another steam coil 14; and succeeding.

air outlets and steam coil zones until the outlet end of the dryingchamber is approached. Adjoining this end ofthe chamber there is asimilar air outlet 13. The fabric then passes over the second roll 9from which it ma continue in a downward direction for fol 'ng bymechanism 15 or other desired disposition.

Fig. 4 shows somewhat in detail the arrangement of the drying zones, itbeing apparent that an elongate dryi duct 16 extends along the dryingsection rom the re.- heating zones nearly to the point w ere the carpetleaves the drying chamber. This duct 16 is (preferably supported betweenthe upper an lower portions of the drying chamber in any suitablemanner. If desired, though not necessaril both the drylng chamber andthe air uct may be arranged in sections of standardized lengths asshown, so that drying apparatus of this v be swung the amount ofatmospheric air admitted to zones. The drying preheating chamber. theair duct 16 and outlets .26 an character may be erected in variousdesired len hs to suit various conditions and types of abric to betreated.

The air outlets 13 are located at the top of the air duct 16 and eachcomprises opposite walls 17 inclined toward each other to provide anozzle-like throat or restriction 18 below the path of the fabric to bedried. The outer portion of the air outlet then merges into a flaredskirt or outlet portion having outwardly inclined surfaces 19which aredis d at a small angle to the plane of fabric movement, whereby thedrying air may impinge directly upon a substantial area of the fabric tobe dried and its period of contact therewith is prolonged.

Adjoining the drying chamber (Fig. 1) is a suitable source of drying airdesignated by the numeral 20. This mechanism may comprise a series oflouvres 21 which may to various angles in order to vary the blastinducin means. The air flows to chamber 22 within which. is located asuitable heater 23. The heated air then passes to the fan or blower 24and thence through the passage 25 into air duct 16, Fig}. 1'. ave

While for convenience of illustration, I disclosed a single heater andblower, the source of drying air supply in many applications of myinvention may com rise a lurality of heaters and blowers 'spose atintervals along the drier.

Means are provided to conduct a proportion of the heated moisture ladenair, which has passed over the fabric, back to the factor or factors 20.For this purpose an air outlet 26 is located below the duct 16 in thewall of chamber 7 and is connected with chamber 22 by the passage 27Fig. Another air outlet 28 permits a portion of the moisture laden airto be exhausted to the atmosphere; this outlet may be located adjacentto the-series of steam coils in the The arran ement of 28 cooperateswith suitable partitions 29 and 30 as well as dampers 31 and 32, topermit regulation of the air movement so that the proportion of moistureladen air which passes through the respective outlets may be varied. 3

The partition 30 is located between the preheating and drying sectionsand extends upwardly substantially to the plane of fabric movement sothat air passi from the drying section to the outlet 28 :Fw over the topof partition 30. Partition 29 is located near the exit end of the dryingchamber and is provided. with a slot to permit the p of the fabrictherethrough. Preferablythe ends of the drying air duct 16 are locatednear the partitions 29 and 30 respectively and the dampers 31 and 32 maybe turned to a position wherein all) they substantially prevent air flowbetween the ends of the duct and the adjoining partitions, so thatsubstantially all of the moisture laden air must be exhausted throughoutlet 28, or the dampers may be turned so that a portion of the airpasses beneath the duct 16 and is returnedto mechanism 20 through outlet26. Thus the amount of the moisture in the dry air may be varied to suitthe particular steamed or sized fabric which is being utilized.

The carpet or other fabric is preferably held in spaced relation to theoutlet portion 19 of air outlets 13 by means of supports or rolls 33, sothat a narrow space is provided between the outer portions of the airoutlets and the carpets. The shape of the air outlets in conjunctionwith this arrangement of the fabric in juxtaposition thereto prolongsthe contact of the air with the fabric which enhances the absorption ofthe moisture from the moving carpet or the like. Figs. to inclusiveillustrate a further development of the invention which is particularlydesirable in treating carpeting such as Axminster or Wilton fabrics orother materials of this type characterized by a.

ing or sizing apparatus such as that previously described and which asshown in Fig. 6 is designated by similar reference numerals. The driershown in Fig. 6 may be suspended from suitable horizontal beam elementsand 36, the former supporting uprights 37 to which the side panels ofthe drier are secured, and the latter supporting intermediate hangers 38which engage the intermediate portions of upper transverse frame members39. It is evident that the frame elements thus formed may bestandardized and adapted to engage standardized panels in order topermit the construction of the drier in any'desired one of a number ofstandardized lengths.

This form of drier (Fig. 7) may have a preheating zone 40 provided withsteam coils 41, similar to the parts 10 and 11 previously described, sothat the carpeting passes in closely spaced relation to the coils and isprepared for drying in the subsequent zones. plenum chamber 42 extendsalong the lower portion of this drier, being formed by the bottom wall43 and side walls 44 of the drying chamber and by a top horizontal wall45. This duct is'provided with a plurality of air outlets 46 which maycomprise nozzle-like passages having flared end portions similar to thenozzles 13 described above. Tnterspersed with the zones which areprovided with these drying outlets or nozzles are zones having steamcoils 47 or An elongate drying duct or the like, which are adapted toradiate heat upon the lower face of the fabric strips, the fabric beingsupported in closely spaced relation to these coils in the mannerpreviously described. In this embodiment of the invention, however,additional air outlets 48 may, if desired, be arranged beneath the coils47, adapted to emit jets of air which aid in the transfer of heat fromthe coils to the moving fabric and particularly to the lower surfacethereof.

In order to insure effective drying of the upper surface or pile of thefabric while the body portion is being dried, I provide additionaldrying means adapted to emit air drafts which sweep across the pilebearing faces of .the fabric. For this purpose I provide an elongate airconduit 49 (Figs. 5 and 8). This conduit is provided with a plurality ofhooded or nozzle like outlets 50 to direct the air over the face of thefabric strips 6. Passages 51 connect the conduit 49 with the main dryingair duct 42, so that a portion of the air supplied to the latter passesupwardly and sweeps over the upper face of the fabric.

The arrangement described insures efficiency in operation since itfurnishes air at high temperature and at high velocity for drying thepile surface of the fabric which is more difficult to dry than the back.It will be noted that the back side of the fabric is subjected toradiant heat which facilitates evaporation but that only a portion ofthe air, for example, from 30 to 50 per cent, passes in contact withthis under surface. When this air, partly cooled by contact with themoist fabric, escapes upwardly around the edge of the fabric at'thepoint P, it

meets another and preferably relatively larger portion of air at hightemperature issuing through the nozzles 50, and the temperature ofthe'air above the fabric is thus higher than that of the air whichescapes from below the fabric. Furthermore, as the entire volume of airfurnished by the blower traverses the upper surface of the fabric, itmoves at high velocity which is conducive to effective drying.

In conjunction with this embodiment of the invention, I have shown aslightly different arrangement of heating and draftinducing means forsupplying drying air to the duct 42. For example the upper portion ofthe drying chamber may be provided with ports or openings 52 connectedto elongate chambers 53 (Fig. 5) that supply the air to heaters 54.Suitable outlet ports 55 may be arranged in thechambers 53 to permit theexhausting of a portion of the moisture laden air to the atmosphere,Whll6 damper'regulated openings 56 adjoining the heating factors 54permit the introduction of atmospheric air in order to compensate forthat exhausted. From the heating factors 54 the heated air passes to thedraft inducing factors or blowers 5! which are connected by passages 58with the sides of the air duct 42. Thus the moisture content of thedrying air supplied to the drier may be varied to suit the particularconditions, it being evident that the use of a plurality of heat anddraft-inducing factors with separately controllable dampers permits themore convenient adaptation of the drier to different requirements.

By providing the elongate chambers 53 for the reception of the airdischarged from the space above the fabric it is possible to maintain asubstantially uniform flow of air transversely so that the entire widthof the fabric is dried with the same rapidity.

Preferably the air heating and circulating units comprising the heater5%, the fan 57, and the casings forming the chambers 53 and 58 areindependent of the sections forming the drying chamber, so that anynumber of heating and circulating units desired may be applied inaccordance with circumstances, and by designing these units for maximumworking efficiency, it is possible, by assembling the proper number ofsuch units with the drying chamber, to obtain a much higher efficiencyin drying than is usual, while it is also possible, if desired, tosupply air at different temperatures of different portions of the dryingchamber.

It is evident that the present invention provides a drier which isadapted to treat comparatively heavy fabric such as carpeting that hasbeen wet by a sizing or a steam bath, by raising the temperature thereofin the preheating section so that excess moisture may promptly beabsorbed when it reaches the drying zones, and then by effectivelydrying the carpet in the drying zones. The warm drying air in the latterremoves the moisture from the heated fabric quite rapidly and permitsmore rapid and uniform drying of the same, while the radiant heat fromthe steam coils aids in attaining this effect and maintains the fabricat a suitably elevated temperature, the nozzles which may be disposedbelow the heating coils still further aiding the drying effect due tothe arrangement of the carpet supporting means, so that the latterpasses in closely spaced relation to the heating coils, and the flaredair outlets prolong the contact of the air with the carpeting. Since theproportion of heated moisture-laden air to the freshly admitted air maybe regulated, economy of operation may be effected and unnecessary wasteof .drying air is prevented.

I claim:

I. Drying apparatus of the character described comprising an elongatechamber, means for passing a fabric therethrough, a plurality of heatingcoils arranged below the fabric path, means for supporting the fabricout of contact with the coils but in closely spaced relation theretowhereby radiant heat from the latter is effective in heating the fabric,a plurality of drying air outlets interspersed with the coils andadapted to emit drying air upon the lolwer face of the fabric, means forsupplying drying air to said outlets including heating means and a draftinducing factor, and a series of air outlets arranged to receive airfrom said air supplying means and to emit the same over the uppersurface of the fabric.

2. Drying apparatus of the character described comprising an elongatechamber, means for passing a fabric therethrough, a plurality of heatingcoils arranged below the fabric path, means for supporting the fabricout of contact with the coils but in closely spaced relation theretowhereby radiant heat from the latter is effective in heating the fabric,a plurality of drying air outlets interspersed with the coils andadapted to emit drying air upon the one face of the fabric,longitudinally disposed air outlets arranged to emit a draft of dryingair over the other face of the fabric, and an air exhaust openingdisposed opposite said last-named outlets and arranged to receive airfrom both the first and last named outlets.

3. Drying apparatus of the character described comprising an elongatechamber, means for passing a fabric therethrough, a plurality of heatingcoils arranged below the fabric path, means for supporting the fabricout of contact with the coils but in closely spaced relation theretowhereby radiant heat from the latter is effective in heating the fabric,and a plurality of drying air outlets inteispersed with the coils andadapted to emit drying air upon the under side of the fabric, saidoutlets being provided with flared ends juxtaposed to the plane offabric movement and making an acute angle therewith whereby to prolongcontact between the issuing air and the fab ric.

4. Drying apparatus of the character described comprising an elongatechamber, means for passing a fabric therethrouglr a plurality of heatingcoils arranged below the fabric path, means for supporting the fabricout of contact with the coils but in closely spaced relation theretowhereby radiant heat from the latter is effective in heating the fabric,a plurality of drying air outlets interspersed with the coils andadapted to emit drying air upon the lower face of the fabric, anelongate plenum chamber extending along said drying chamber, connectionsbetween the interior of the latter below the fabric path and the plenumchamber, and outlets from the latter toeinit air transversely above thefabric.

5. Drying apparatus of the character described comprising an elongatechamber,

means for passing a fabric therethrough, a plurality of zones in saidchamber, said zones being defined by interchangeable standardizedsections of said chamber, heating coils in certain zones of said chamberand drying air outlets located in other zones of said chamber, apreheating section near the point of fabric entrance to said chamber,said section being provided with a plurality of heating coils, and anelongate air duct supported within the chamber and extending from apoint near the preheating Zone substantially to the point of fabricexit.

6. Drying apparatus of the character described comprising an elongatechamber, means for passing a strip of pile fabric therethrough with thepile surface of the fabric uppermost, means for subjecting the lowersurface of the fabric to radiant heat, elongate plenum chamberse'xtendingalong said first chamber at opposite sides of the latter, thedrying chamber having a series of passages providing communication withthe respective plenum chambers, means for producing a current of heatedair and for delivering a portion of said current into one of said plenumchambers from which it emerges into the drying chamber and passestransversely across into the opposite plenum chamber, means connectingthe last chamber with the intake side of the means for inducing the aircurrent, and means for directing a portion of the heated air currentinto the space beneath the fabric.

Signed by me at Paris, Kentucky, this nineteenth day of April, 1929.

LUCIEN BUCK.

